The asylum seeker wants to work, but the 24-week requirement gets in the way

She would like to work as a nurse. As she did for seventeen years in her home country of Iraq. Chro (43) fled to the Netherlands about 4.5 years ago. She still lives in an asylum seekers’ center and is awaiting a final decision about her stay in the Netherlands. She prefers not to see her last name in the newspaper to prevent her family from being traceable.

For two months she has been working as a ‘house lady’ at the Bartholomeus Gasthuis care home in Utrecht, where she cleans the public areas. “It took me a long time to start working,” she says. “I am proud of my work now, but I also know that I can do more.”

In the Netherlands, her diploma is equivalent to two years of HBO. She would have to study for another two years to be able to work here as a nurse. Personnel & Organization Manager Adri Hammink (58) would like to invest in that study. But, she says, “Chro is only allowed to work 24 weeks a year. There is not enough time to train her.”

It is difficult for asylum seekers in the Netherlands to find a job. In principle, they can start working six months after arrival. But in practice they run into limitations. Minister Karien van Gennip (Social Affairs, CDA) commissioned a study into this.

One of the biggest restrictions turned out to be the so-called 24-week requirement. This stipulates that asylum seekers may work in the Netherlands for a maximum of 24 weeks per year. However, the court in Arnhem ruled two months ago that the UWV may not refuse a work permit if the asylum seeker wants to work longer. The 24-week requirement is an unnecessary restriction on the labor market for asylum seekers, was the opinion. Working during the asylum procedure will also promote integration in the Netherlands after status has been granted, according to the court.

UWV and Social Affairs appealed. In the meantime, the 24-week requirement will continue to apply. This week, the House of Representatives discussed an initiative memorandum from coalition party D66 to allow asylum seekers to work without restrictions for the whole year immediately upon arrival.

Job markets

Since she arrived in the Netherlands, Chro knew she wanted to work. She visited job fairs and left her email address, but employers never invited her for an interview. Being able to employ someone for only 24 weeks a year – that makes little sense, she was told. But at one of those job fairs she met recruiter Raphael Nouwen, who introduced her to the Bartholomeus Gasthuis.

At the beginning of this year, Nouwen set up a company to help asylum seekers find work. He visits asylum seekers centers and informs asylum seekers that they can approach him if they are looking for work. A large group would like to work, he sees. “Recently I was in the azc in Amsterdam South-East,” he says. “I hung a note there at the reception with the message ‘let’s talk about work‘. The next day there were about 35 people waiting in the lobby eager to work.”

Nouwen has now helped sixteen asylum seekers find work and is still working for seventeen others. In asylum seekers centers he speaks, among others, of people who worked in their home country as architects, engineers or accountants, or who had their own shop. “It is difficult to find work here at exactly the same level,” he says. “But most people want to do anything, as long as it’s work.”

Asylum seekers often find work via Nouwen in the hospitality industry – chefs are especially in demand – but also in cleaning and at distribution centres. A young man with a background in ICT was able to work for a multinational through Nouwen. “He worked there for 24 weeks. The employer briefly considered civil disobedience and keeping the man employed, but ultimately thought it was too risky to jeopardize the relationship with the UWV for one employee.”

Work permit

Before asylum seekers can start work in the Netherlands, the employer must apply for a work permit (TWV) from the UWV. From 2017 to 2021, more than 37,500 asylum seekers were eligible for a TWV, according to the report published in April report drawn up by the Regioplan research institute on behalf of Minister Van Gennip. This means that they had been in the Netherlands for more than six months and were between 18 and 67 years old. 2,032 permits were applied for for them; of these, 1,514 were granted.

The researchers conclude that employers regard applying for a work permit as too great an administrative burden. The waiting times are long and for some employers it is not clear how and from which authority they can apply for the permit. In addition, many employers do not feel like working with an asylum seeker because of the 24-week limitation; this way they cannot invest in a long-term relationship.

For other employers, the labor shortage appears to be an important reason to accept asylum seekers. The same goes for Adri Hammink of the Bartholomeus Gasthuis. “I am constantly concerned with the question of how we can get enough staff in the future,” she says. “The growth of students with a care-related profession has decreased in recent years. When Chro applied to us, we had a temporary vacancy and we wanted to try out working with asylum seekers.”

European law

The limitation to 24 weeks of work is contrary to European law, says Tesseltje de Lange, professor of European migration law at Radboud University in Nijmegen. ‘Europe’ wants asylum seekers to have real access to the labor market. “I don’t qualify as actual access for 24 weeks a year.” According to De Lange, several lawyers agree on this.

Proponents of the current policy fear that asylum seekers would build up social security rights by working longer than 24 weeks and that they could therefore claim unemployment benefits even if they were not granted residence status. “That is not legally correct,” says de Lange. “On the basis of the so-called Linking Act, rejected asylum seekers are not entitled to unemployment benefits or other benefits.”

Another concern is that full access for refugees to the Dutch labor market would attract them. According to De Lange, this has never been proven. “Research has shown that it only became clear to Syrian refugees after they had arrived in the Netherlands, Germany or Belgium that they can start work immediately in Germany, for example, and have to wait six months in the Netherlands.”

It would be good if it were easier for asylum seekers to work in the Netherlands, thinks De Lange. “Research shows that being able to be active quickly promotes both mental health and integration later as a status holder.” According to the professor, starting work during the asylum procedure is good for language development, building a network and getting used to the Dutch working culture. “That helps to be more independent if you have received a status. Currently, 90 percent of status holders start with a social assistance benefit. That’s a shame.”

Since Chro started working at the Bartholomeus Gasthuis, her Dutch has improved enormously, she says. Before that, she learned the language through YouTube videos and followed a short course. “Now I come into contact with residents and we have a chat. Especially on the third floor, where elderly people with dementia live. They tell me what’s on their minds. Sometimes I get a hug.”

Asylum seekers who have to quit their job after 24 weeks, often end up ‘back in hopelessness’, says Nouwen. “They don’t want to complain about the system, but it’s hard for them to lose their jobs.”

Chro doesn’t want to think about what comes after this job for now. “I just want to focus on my work. These 24 weeks are very important to me.”